Newsletter
december 2021
TERRATECH
masTERs course on
smArt Agriculture
TECHnologies
At a Glance
A ERASMUS+ Programme
Knowledge Alliances
Cooperation for innovation
and the exchange of good
practices
EAC/A02/2019 Erasmus+
Programme 2019/C 373/06
PROJECT NUMBER:
21568-EPP-1-2020-1-PT-
EPPKA2-KA
DURATION: 36 months
COORDINATOR:
University of Porto
Curriculum announcement
Did you know that the applica-
tions for TERRATECH MSc are
already open? As such, today
we are releasing the academic
curriculum of our MSc course,
so prospect students can be
more informed about what to
expect of this master’s degree.
The TERRATECH MSc course
will have a duration of 8
months, plus a 1-month ag-
ricultural experience (on the
job) a month after the end of
the teaching period. During the
course, 3 mobility periods are
programmed. For the first two
periods (14-day each), the stu-
dents will visit the teaching uni-
versities (International Hellenic
University, Greece, and Univer-
sity of Debrecen, Hungary) to
participate in the large-scale
laboratories in order to develop
a demonstrator IoT system,
whereas other participating
universities will deliver their
specialised courses online. The
3rd period (1 month) is reserved
for the agricultural on-the-job
training in smart technology
SME’s and in demonstration
farms in order to use the devel-
oped system. ....
Curriculum announcement

The curriculum, which includes 24 courses, focuses socio-economic backgrounds (including refugees,
on applied engineering concepts and provides industry asylum seekers and migrants) will be preferred.
insights in order to immerse the students in Agricul- Students can apply to the Smart Agriculture Systems
ture ICT core components, functionality, maintenance, MSc at the program’s website (terratechmsc.eu). Ap-
safety, and sustainability. Two of the courses are plication deadline is 4th of April 2022 and the program
characterized as large experiments that will lead to the starts on 3rd of October 2022.
development of drones, sensor clusters, and IoT/AR
based measurement system. At the end of this news-
letter, you can find a complete syllabus list as well as a
short description of each course.
The TERRATECH MSc course is open for the partici-
pation of anyone with a basic agricultural, electrical,
mechanical or technical background, such as university
students that have completed a suitable bachelor’s de-
gree or professionals with equivalent or higher working
experience (5 years minimum). Priority will be given ac-
cording to their academic performance or professional
experience and, in the case of equivalent academic/ex-
perience level, then participants from less advantaged

List of the courses composing the TERRATECH MSc’s curriculum

1st Semester 2nd Semester

Code Name Code Name
TS1.1 Plant Pathology TS2.1 Precision Crop Production & Protection Systems
TS1.2 Data Acquisition & Sensors TS2.2 In-silico models for integrated environment and
human risk assessment
TS1.3 NI LabVIEW Training TS2.3 Precision Plant Farming Management
TS1.4 Geographic Information Systems TS2.4 Agricultural Drone Systems
TS1.5 Remote Sensing & Wireless Sensor Net- TS2.5 Data processing & Blockchain
works
TS1.6 Greenhouse & Soilless Culture (Hydropon- TS2.6 Renewable Energy in Agriculture
ics)
TS1.7 Soil Quality & Health TS2.7 Modern technologies to mitigate the impact of
agricultural activities on ecosystem services and
Training
TS1.8 IoT Platforms & Systems TS2.8 Augmented/Virtual Reality
TS1.9 Precision Soil Cultivation & Sowing TS2.9 Innovation & Entrepreneurship Management
TS1.10 Precision Nutrient & Irrigation Manage- TS2.10 Business Administration
ment
TS1.11 Local Culture & Language (Greek) TS2.11 Local Culture & Language (Hungarian)
TS1.12 Intermediate Project TS2.12 Developing Tool Demonstrator

page 2
Short description of the courses composing the TERRATECH MSc’s

TS1.1 Plant Pathology TS1.10 Precision Nutrient & Irrigation Management

This course will introduce students to the basic con- This course will train students in monitoring and
cepts and principles in plant pathology as well as to the assessing plant nutritional and water status by using
main pathogenic agents and their complex interactions traditional and innovative non-destructive methods,
with abiotic factors. allowing early detection of non-biotic stresses. In addi-
tion, students will learn how to design a more sustain-
TS1.2 Data Acquisition & Sensors
able, new-generation agriculture aiming at increasing
This course intends to prepare students to recognize
input efficiency, lowering production cost and environ-
and describe basic crop sensors as well as to analyze,
mental impacts.
design, and develop a sensoring system based on the
LabVIEW environment. TS1.11 Local Culture & Language
In this course, students will have the opportunity to
TS1.3 NI LabVIEW Training
learn basic Greek language skills to enable them to
This course will give participants the bases for pro-
immerse in the local culture during the exchange period
gramming and utilizing practical data acquisition struc-
at the International Hellenic University .
tures as well as sensor control circuits.
TS1.12 Intermediate Project
TS1.4 Geographic Information Systems
This course consists of a project where the students
This course aims to introduce students to Geographical
will be challenged to develop a sensor cluster appara-
Information Systems while developing the necessary
tus or a simple Augmented Reality system.
skills to identify data requirements depending on the
problem, conduct data collection, perform spatial pro- TS2.1 Precision Crop Production & Protection Systems
cesses and multi-criteria analysis. This course will focus on production methods for a
range of crops and the need for resource use efficiency
TS1.5 Remote Sensing & Wireless Sensor Networks
as well as economic and environmental acceptance of
This course focuses on technology and architectures in
the production systems.
the area of Wireless Sensor Networks, covering all as-
pects of these systems, mainly the hardware and radio TS2.2 In-silico models for integrated environment and
architecture as well as software applications. human risk assessment
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the
TS1.6 Greenhouse & Soilless Culture (Hydroponics)
basic principles of integrated environmental fate, hu-
This course will provide the students with a comprehen-
man exposure and pharmacokinetic modelling and help
sive insight on the pros and cons of protected cultiva-
them to perform simple scenario simulations using the
tion systems, including vertical farming/plant factories.
methods and models offered by the Merlin-Expo tool.
TS1.7 Soil Quality & Health
TS2.3 Precision Plant Farming Management
This course will provide an introduction to the concepts
The aim of this course is to compare against traditional
of soil quality and health as well as the panoply of
plant management techniques and demonstrate how
soil quality indicators available. Plus, students will be
technology is shaping, not only the production, but also
invited to broaden their knowledge about soil sensing
the storage, processing, transportation and distribution
applications.
of goods.
TS1.8 IoT Platforms & Systems
TS2.4 Agricultural Drone Systems
This course will train students on the Internet-of-Things
The principles of data acquisition together with tech-
(IoT) theory and its implementation to automation.
niques for autonomously navigating a drone are taught
TS1.9 Precision Soil Cultivation & Sowing in this course.
This course is focused on principals of precision
TS2.5 Data processing & Blockchain
agriculture and smart farming, including the econom-
Interpretation of the data acquired through sensoring
ic benefits of its implementation in efficient and safe
systems will automate the agricultural environment
agricultural practice.
evaluation. In this course, possible ways of ...

page 3
achieving such automation will be analyzed taking into
account the particularities of the signal parameters
coming from sensors.
TS2.6 Renewable Energy in Agriculture
This course will address the importance of renewable
energy sources in agriculture and how to employ them
at a farm scale.
TS2.7 Modern technologies to mitigate the impact
of agricultural activities on ecosystem services and
Training
This course intends to present pollutants risk assess-
ment methodologies that support the decision-making
process, enabling risk managers to define and apply
more relevant and explicit management options, such
as health protection measures.
TS2.8 Augmented/Virtual Reality
This course will introduce students to Augmeented/
Virtual Reality, by covering the following topics: VR/
AR innovations and physical structure, integration of
elements of IoT, 3D modelling approaches (Blender)
and scripting, augmented reality and computer vision
algorithms, and socio-economic benefits of application
of VR/AR in agriculture and related industries.
TS2.9 Innovation & Entrepreneurship Management
This course is an introduction to the basic principles
of identifying innovation and entrepreneurial oppor-
tunities, creating a business plan, securing financial
backing, and coordinating business growth.
TS2.10 Business Administration
This course will provide students with an insight into
business management, focusing on the agricultural
industry.
TS2.12 Developing Tool Demonstrator
During this project, students will integrate the tool that
was developed during the Intermediate Project into a
drone measuring system, guided by the instructor. The
students developing AR code will develop a powerful
virtual tool, able to be used for data retrieval.

Consortium

Project Coordinator

Prof. Ruth Pereira, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto

Rua do Campo Alegre, s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal, Tel.: +351 220402746 | Ext. 70746

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